Everyone wants the lad from Liepaja

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - So it's come to this for Kristaps Porzingis. The NBA rookie from Latvia is such a sensation in New York that a Knicks fan has asked him to her high school prom.

The boos that rained down on him at the NBA Draft? They are no more. The doubters that poured scorn on team president Phil Jackson for using the fourth pick on the lad from Liepaja? They are quiet.

The Baltic brothers back home that wake up early each morning to check out the stats of the 2.13m superstar in the making? They are beaming. They are proud. They are hoping that Porzingis, who doesn't turn 21 until a few days before the Rio de Janeiro Games, will help Latvia qualify for the Olympics.

Porzingis is an amazing player, no question, and would be a boost to the national team. We'll live and see. Everyone in Latvia wants him on the national team. - Rolands Freimanis

So the players in the national squad want the person that already has a slew of nicknames, including 'Scorezingis', to help them win the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgrade. If anyone thinks he wouldn't be able to help Latvia in the OQT, he's clueless.

Freimanis, who was speaking about his compatriot to the VTB United League website, knows what Porzingis would do if went up against the Czechs, the Japanese, the Puerto Ricans, the Angolans or the Serbians. He would cause match-up problems. He would score from long range, and he would put the ball on the deck and drive to the basket.

Averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds, Porzingis would also give the team a rim protector. He's averaging 1.9bpg. Twice this season, he's swatted seven shots in a game. SEVEN!

He's going to get better, too. His talent gives Knicks Nation hope for the future. But what's really nice about Porzingis is how he is going about his business. He's having fun. And he's not taking himself too seriously.

It's his attitude that Jackson was praising earlier in the season. Yes, the legendary Bulls and Lakers coach likes the Porzingis mentality. He liked his reaction after Houston center Dwight Howard dunked on him in a game.

The basketball world went into a frenzy. Porzingis just laughed and took the 'posterization' in his stride.

"It's ridiculous," Jackson said to the New York Post. "Everyone gets dunked on in the NBA. He laughed it off. He's a lightning rod to our fan corps. You can't hide him. He stands out in the crowd."

Will Porzingis play at the OQT? If he does, it's getting to the point that he'll be the biggest star there.

Porzingis addressed the national team issue earlier this season in an interview with FIBA.com and chose his words carefully.

"I want to be part of the national team in the future, that is for sure," Porzingis said back in December. "But the most important thing for me now is to be a solid NBA player. After this, I will for sure help my country and give everything for Latvia. I am a proud Latvian."

The bigger and more important question for one Knicks fan, 17-year-old Samantha Miller, was if Porzingis would be her prom date.

Porzingis would have been the best basketball player at the prom, but he politely declined on Saturday.

Here's hoping that Porzingis continues to have a great rookie season, and that he puts on the Latvia jersey sooner rather than later. And Samantha, like the big man said, I hope you have a good time without him.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

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